The number of jobs available in Ireland declined marginally last month against an increase in the number of professionals seeking new opportunities.

The Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor, released today, reported a “minimal” 1 per cent decline in available positions for May.

And it noted that while the number of those looking for new vacancies in the professional market rose by 11 per cent for the month, this represented a 9 per cent decrease on the same period last year.

“May 2014 continued the positive start of the year, with consistency in terms of professionals seeking new opportunities in Ireland and new jobs coming on to the market,” said Morgan McKinley chief operations officer Karen O’Flaherty.

Supply challenging

“However, supply remains challenging due to continued start-up opportunities, new projects spend and company expansions in the tech and software sectors,” she said.

IT professionals in particular were more active last month following the receipt of annual bonuses.

In Dublin the main opportunities were limited to senior roles, putting pressure on salary offers in order to secure preferred candidates.

“Companies who are currently hiring are also competing with IT professionals receiving multiple job offers and this remains a nationwide concern. A trend we have also noticed is the increased need for professionals with specialist experience in HR where learning and development and talent management roles are in demand,” said Ms O’Flaherty.

As well as continued need for graduate professionals in accounting, finance and IT roles, there was also a notable uplift across the audit, supply chain, HR and research and development markets, the monitor found.

“There is an inaccurate perception that there is an abundance of talent in the market,” said Ms O’Flaherty.

“As the appetite for specialist talent continues, hiring processes must become more efficient as companies are having to differentiate themselves from their competitors.”

The decrease in the number of available jobs for May translated to 9,368 compared with 9,475 for April.

The number of those seeking new job opportunities increased from 8,335 in April to 9,250 in May, although on annual comparison this figure declined from 10,135 to 9,250.